Interagency Cooperation
Nick put the ID back in his pocket. “Take it easy, pal,” he replied, trying to cool down the situation before it heated up. “I’m not here to step on anyone’s toes. This isn’t the first time we’ve met like this; you know my style of working.”
Cooperation among various agencies wasn’t anything new for either Brendan or Nick. The NYPD, FBI, CIA, and others were supposed to work to maintain peace and order in the country, but interagency rivalries and feelings that other agencies were interfering and hampering another agency’s work was an ongoing problem, and every now and then, this issue would arise. Most of the time, such matters settled after some jostling and pushing around. Both men knew that, this time, too, it would settle down. However reluctant each man might have been about having to accommodate and cooperate with the other, both knew it would be necessary.
Nick had started to move toward the crime scene. Brendan had fallen in right beside him, matching him step for step and trying his best to deter him from reaching it. The closer Nick got to the crime scene, the more Brendan got irritated with him. “Yeah, right. Famous last words. Shall we dispense with the usual bullshit and get right to the point? What do you want, Agent Nick? Let us sort it out right away before it gets too late.”
Nick stopped walking and looked at Brendan intensely. Brendan, too, stopped walking and blocked Nick’s path. Nick wanted to give Brendan a nickname from a science fiction movie, but refrained when he saw the detective’s mood. Nick took a deep breath and said, “As an associate recently said to me, ‘It is merely a little interagency cooperation, nothing more.’ By the way, aren’t you curious to know how I came to know that I’m supposed to be here? I didn’t have a dream, Brendan.”
The detective put his hands in his jacket pockets and said, “Not really. We’ve known that this firm works with some rather questionable individuals and organizations; that’s putting it nicely. Now that a terrorist has bombed the place, I knew it wouldn’t be long before one of you Feds showed up.”
“You’re so sure that’s what this is all about and there is nothing more to it?” said Nick.